Skyrim:Unmarked Places

This article describes places of interest in Skyrim that are not marked on your map, are not represented by icons on your compass, and aren't directly related to any quests. Some of the places on this list do not have official names or titles, in which case unofficial names have been used to describe the places.

Bandit Bridge: Pinewatch is a bandit lookout post west of Helgen and immediately southwest of Pinewatch. It consists of two towers that straddle the Helgen-Falkreath road, linked by a rope bridge. A bandit archer keeps watch atop each tower. A tripwire activates a boulder trap that is attached to the structure. (map)

West of Helgen is a camp consisting of a tanning rack, a chest, a potion of healing, a pair of hide boots, three bedrolls and a copy of the Light Armor skill book The Refugees. Upon opening the chest, three bandits will appear from the west. (map)

East of Dragon Bridge, there is a camp under a rocky outcropping inhabited by two bandits. There are two bed rolls around the campfire, as well as a novice-locked chest containing leveled loot. Right next to the chest lies a copy of the Block skill book Warrior. (map)

Southwest of Reachwater Rock is an unmarked Forsworn camp with three inhabitants. When approaching the camp, the Forsworn may be seen fighting with Imperial soldiers. There are four tents in the camp; one tent contains a chest and a satchel, while another contains a copy of the Block skill book Death Blow of Abernanit. A few common alchemical ingredients can be found around the campfire. (map)

Bleak Falls Tower

Bleak Falls Tower is a bandit-occupied Nordic tower located east of Bleak Falls Barrow, along the path between it and Riverwood. It is occupied by three leveled bandits; the first one lounges against a tree next to the path, the second paces back and forth across a bridge and through the entry door, and the third waits near the top of the tower. All three will only turn hostile if you approach the tower too closely. The tower contains only a few valuables: a table on the first level holds a coin purse, four barrels near the top contain foodstuffs and a few salt piles, while an unlocked chest at the very top contains leveled loot. Two iron ore veins can be found just south of the tower down a steep path. (map)

South of Ragnvald, a bit uphill, there is a small hagraven camp initially found empty. The hostile hagraven will appear coming up the road to the camp as soon as you open the chest in her tent, barring your escape route. The camp can easily be found as it is in the end of a path forking away uphill from the path to Ragnvald. (map)

A pair of Forsworn and their dog set up a small camp southwest of Bthardamz, but likely fell victim to the frost troll that now occupies the camp. The camp consists of a campfire and two tents, one of which holds an unlocked chest containing minor loot, while the other holds a copy of the Destruction skill book The Art of War Magic. A few animal pelts and a tanning rack attest to the late occupants' activities. (map)

A pair of Forsworn, one of which is a magic-user have a pair of hay piles around a campfire north of Valthume, south of Old Hroldan near a cliff edge above the road and river. There is an apothecary's satchel on one of the hay piles and a random war axe among some firewood beside the campfire. (map)

West of Sarethi Farm is a campsite with a note regarding a treasure chest nearby. The camp itself has no notable loot. The chest indicated in the note can be found to the northwest down the slope and on a small island in Lake Geir. (map)

Northwest of Folgunthur is an abandoned camp. There are two hay piles and a cooking spit under an overhang, in front of which is a nondescript ruin. A copy of the Pickpocket skill book Purloined Shadows lies on a crate to the side of the camp. (map)

Hot spring hunter camp west of Eldergleam Sanctuary

West of Eldergleam Sanctuary you can find a hunter's camp, where three naked hunters live and appear to be relaxing in the hot waters of one of many springs characteristic of the region. Among their possessions is a copy of the Smithing skill book Cherim's Heart. (map)

Southwest of Northwatch Keep is an abandoned camp with a tent containing an unowned bed roll and a wooden bowl holding a piece of clam meat. There are three food sacks and one barrel either side of the tent and a campfire in front, with a cooking pot hanging over it. Beside the fire is an open crate containing sixteen pieces of clam meat. On a rock near the camp are nineteen clams, with a couple more underwater nearby. Around the camp there is a tree stump with mora tapinella growing on it. (map)

Directly south of Hlaalu Farm, east of Brandy-Mug Farm, up in the cliffs is a hunter camp containing a campfire with cooking pot, a wood chopping block, three tents and three hunters. There is also a table with venison, goat meat, a snow bear pelt and a deer pelt. Next to the table is a deer carcass with an iron war axe. In the tent closest to the hanging rack is a coin purse. This camp is replaced by Windhelm Military Camp during the Civil War. (map)

North of Halldir's Cairn is an abandoned hunter's camp, consisting of a tent and an unlit campfire. The tent holds a knapsack, while a nearby crate has a Hunter's Journal and a copy of the Sneak skill book Legend of Krately House resting atop it. See Creature Lairs for details of the likely den of bears that is mentioned in the journal, where the hunters met their unfortunate end. It is found west-northwest of Halldir's Cairn, near the road heading out of Skyrim. (map)

Northeast of Honeystrand Cave, southeast of Ivarstead, on a hillock is the remains of a woodcutter's camp consisting of a single small tent containing an unowned bedroll beside an extinguished campfire. A cooking spit has been knocked over and the corpse of a woodcutter is lying near the tent with a woodcutter's axe beside him. There is an iron dagger and a medium coin purse just inside the tent and a baked potato in a metal pot by the fire. (map)

In the mountain west of Helgen, due south of Embershard Mine, very near the secret exit you use to leave Helgen in the beginning, is a small camp containing two blood covered bed rolls, with the bodies of two refugees from Helgen, who have been killed by an animal. There is an extinguished campfire and normally an animal nearby. (map)

South-southeast of Steamgrag Camp, atop a large rocky hill, is a shrine of Akatosh on a stone bier. Three leveled skeletons will rise from the surrounding pillars to attack intruders. A leveled weapon and a copy of the Alteration skill book Breathing Water rest next to the shrine. (map)

The path southwest up the mountain to Mount Anthor continues to the south, then east, looping back to the Shrine of Azura. It appears that the dragon from Mount Anthor caught a party of refugees in the open on this path. Their three bodies, along with a wrecked cart piled up with their belongings, can be found partially buried in the snow. Among the detritus are a few useful items: a coin purse, an apothecary's satchel, a leveled battleaxe, and a copy of the Enchanting skill book Enchanter's Primer. (map)

Southeast of Dragon Bridge, on the side of the road, is a caravan loaded with crates, rugs, and a knapsack. Next to it are the corpses of a horse, a Nord man, and a Redguard woman, the latter carrying the Merchant's Journal. Falmer Arrows stuck in the horse and more Falmer arrows and a Falmer Ear lying around suggest a Falmer attack, possibly related to the nearby Chillwind Depths. (map)

South of The Lady Stone is a sunken shipwreck beneath the waters of Lake Ilinalta. The shipwreck contains a chest and a leveled weapon. (map)

Further northeast of the Wreck of the Winter War than the previous listing lies a skeleton, six gold ingots, a random enchanted dagger and a copy of the Pickpocket skill book Beggar all found beneath a flag and beside a crate on an isolated shore. Follow the shore north from the barrels until you have to enter the water to move around some icy rocks, follow them around to the right and the flag will on the shore behind. The dagger may have rolled down towards the water's edge. (map)

Due east of Snow Veil Sanctum there is an adept-locked chest with a few of crates nearby. They are at the upper end of a short gap between raised ice sheets. There may also be a frost troll and dead horker not far away. Ice floes lead up to it from the shore. (map)

Southeast of Windstad Manor and northeast of Ustengrav is a burnt house occupied by a bandit with a common chest, lit fireplace and boards added for a makeshift roof over a bed. The state of the house changes during the Dragon Rising quest. Presumably, a dragon attack results in two burnt corpses, lit embers, scorches and a burnt carriage. (map)

East of Pinepeak Cavern is the lair of a troll. The bodies of two deceased Stormcloak soldiers are found here among the bones of other victims of the troll. A note can be found on the body of one of the Stormcloaks which suggests that they were sent to investigate recent attacks in the area in order to gain the locals' favor. At the back of the lair is an orichalcum ore vein. (map)

A steep, narrow trail north-northeast of Journeyman's Nook leads down to the sea. At the base of the trail, two horkers sit in front of a small alcove in the cliff wall which contains a novice-locked chest and a copy of the Restorationskill book2920, Rain's Hand, v4. (map)

West-Northwest of Halldir's Cairn is a bear den occupied by two cave bears. Two dead hunters, likely from the nearby abandoned hunter's camp, can be found here, as well as a dead deer and several bleeding crown fungus. During the day, the area also swarms with bees from two beehives in nearby trees. (map)

Northwest of Fort Greymoor on the northern mountainside is hostile animal guarding a lootable skeleton reaching for an apprentice-locked strongbox under a tree. (map)

North-northeast of Lost Echo Cave and southeast of Steepfall Burrow is a ruined tower containing a hostile creature, two deer corpses and a Stormcloak corpse carrying the Lockpicking skill book Proper Lock Design. Next to the main road, a deer corpse and a blood trail lead there. (map)

Southeast of Sleeping Tree Camp are some ancient Nordic ruins. These ruins consist of some monumental stones and rotatable pillars displaying snake, whale and eagle images. After rotating to the correct symbols (the monumental stones will help you solve the puzzle), activating the switch at the center of the ruin will open a nearby grate. At the bottom of a small spiral staircase is a skeleton lying next to a chest which contains a leveled armor piece and a copy of the Destruction skill book A Hypothetical Treachery. (map)

On a small hill east of Sleeping Tree Camp are some ancient Nordic ruins with an altar in the center. Lying on this altar is a deceased conjurer, some alchemy ingredients, and a copy of the Conjuration skill book Liminal Bridges. Two hostile skeletons inhabit these ruins, while a unique third skeleton wearing a Black Mage Hood stands by three mysterious graves nearby. (map)

North of Knifepoint Ridge is a tower that has fallen off the cliffside and broken into two large pieces. Wolves inhabit the bottom half of the tower, where there lies a dead elk among two patches of Blisterwort. There is a chest on the wooden planking that is used as the roof of the wolves den and another chest on the wooden floor of the upper half of the tower. There is also a vacant beehive. (map)

Northeast of Pinepeak Cavern, across the river and up a steep winding path, a small abandoned well can be found. Upon approaching it for the first time, a wispmother will rise up out of the well and attack you, along with her three attendant wisps. A nearby broken section of wall hides a basket with a copy of the Conjuration skill book The Warrior's Charge resting atop it. Hidden underneath the basket is a locked strongbox. (map)

After traveling through Ironbind Barrow, you can exit out to Ironbind Overlook. If you then follow the rough path east up the mountain, you will come across the ruins of a small Dwemer shrine, guarded by two ice wraiths. Resting at the foot of the shrine is a leveled, enchanted warhammer, with two small, unlocked Dwarven jewelry boxes flanking it. Some potions can be found atop the taller pillar; you have to use Whirlwind Sprint to access at this point. A quicksilver ore deposit can be found just uphill. (map)

If you head over the hills southeast of Hjaalmarch Stormcloak Camp, you will come across a trap door grate set in a platform with a set of steps leading up to it. Opening the trap door will give access to a spiral staircase leading down to a sealed sarcophagus. If you come here between 8pm and 5am, either on your own or following the ghost that leads you here from Kjenstag Ruins, you will find two leveled bandits in the process of looting the now-opened tomb. The tomb can then be looted for its leveled treasure: a necklace, an enchanted weapon, and a shield. One of the bandits carries a copy of the Block skill book A Dance in Fire, v2. (map)

East of Dushnikh Yal is the ruin of a Nordic barrow containing a table of embalming equipment, a dungeon chest, a skeleton grasping a coin purse, burial urn and hanging moss. (map)

East of Cronvangr Cave and southwest of Witchmist Grove are watery ruins guarded by two necromancers. The altar has a soul gem, potions and burial urns. A dead novice conjurer and seven Draugr corpses, one impaled, are all lootable. At the eastern edge of the pool is a dungeon chest. (map)

South of Hillgrund's Tomb is a large fallen tree bridging a tributary of the White River that runs between two sheer cliffs. Standing guard on this log is a bandit, who will only attack if you get too close. The corpse of another bandit lies on a small beach below the bridge, with a dagger, amulet, and coin purse lying next to it. The body of a third bandit can be found on the northern cliff, next to the remains of a tree which conceals a locked chest and a copy of the Illusion skill book The Black Arts On Trial. (map)

West-southwest of Knifepoint Ridge, if you climb the ridge to the top, you'll find the remains of some person. The skeleton has a blood-spattered knapsack and leveled bow lying next to it. A bone meal and a small amount of gold can be found on the skeleton. (map)

Between Reachwater Rock and Kolskeggr Mine there's an abandoned rowboat at a bend of the river. In the boat are some bottles, an apothecary's satchel, an adept-locked strongbox and one each of the following gems: emerald, garnet, flawless garnet, ruby, flawless ruby and flawless diamond. Next to the boat, in the river, is a chest and two mead barrels. (map)

To the east of Greenwall Cave's main entrance (the one exterior to the fort), there is a caged wolf. If you release the wolf, two trappers will appear and attack you, with the wolf siding with you against them. If the wolf manages to survive the fight, it will not attack you, and will remain near the cage until the zone respawns. (map)

To the west of Loreius Farm up the hill is a small clearing littered with the remains of 25 mammoths. Two poachers can be found here, and will turn hostile if you get too close. (map)

To the west of Saarthal, there is a mammoth partly encapsulated in a block of ice, which can be looted for a mammoth snout. Its body is pierced with five Dwarven arrows, a random battleaxe, and a large bolt from a Dwemer ballista. There is an iron ore vein and an orichalcum ore vein nearby. (map)

Southeast of Bleakcoast Cave there are two dead hunters, two dead horkers, and a live horker. One of the hunters carries Treasure Map VIII. There are four ore veins in close proximity: three iron ore veins—one east, one west, and one south—and a quicksilver vein to the southeast. (map)

A tattered flag and an unfortunate soul

On the mountain high above the Great Lift at Alftand, there is a tattered flag flying. At the base of the flag is a leveled mace, a leather helmet, and a satchel. Further back on the mountain is a silver ore vein. (map)

West of Sunderstone Gorge and south of Fort Sungard is a dragon barrow. About 100 feet south of the dragon barrow is a "fairy circle", a ring of bare ground surrounded by several varieties of harvestable mushrooms. (map)

In the mountains almost due east of Ragnvald, between it and Bthardamz, a dead Orcbandit can be found draped over a novice-locked chest containing minor loot, with a random one-handed weapon beside it in addition to the one carried by the Orc. Two dead wolves next to him hint at the cause of his death. (map)

East of Haemar's Shame, on the east side of the mountain pass between Helgen and the western lands of the Rift, a pile of stones marks a steep, narrow path heading east from the road up through a small notch in the rock walls of the pass. A quicksilver ore deposit and a copy of the Alteration skill book Daughter of the Niben can be found at the end of this path. (map)

West-northwest of Haemar's Shame, east of Falkreath's Stormcloaks camp, is an overhanging rock face. Under this is a skeleton with a coin purse, along with a few animal bones, as if this was used as an animal's den. There are two snowberry bushes here as well. (map)

Due west of Graywinter Watch, on a spit of land sticking out into the middle of the river, is a novice-locked chest hidden among some driftwood. (map)

There is a waterfall in the River Yorgrim, due west of Anga's Mill, with a dry alcove behind it. The alcove holds an adept-locked strong box, a barrel containing alchemical ingredients, a lootable skeleton, two ingots and a weapon on top of the crate and a buried lootable chest. Nearby there are mudcrabs, Nordic barnacle clusters and a camp. (map)

About halfway along the path from Salvius Farm and Ragnvald (almost due west of The Lover Stone) you will come across some dilapidated masonry with a spriggan and/or hagraven in the same area. Next to a large round piece of masonry, partially hidden by vegetation is an unlocked Dwemer chest. (map)

Up along the mountainside due east of Wolfskull Cave, and due south of The Steed Stone, is a dead female bandit with two leveled potions and a sack of food, right next to a tree. To find them, walk along the road east from the cave until you come to a broken tree trunk on the left; she is above that. Just past this is the stump of a tree which marks a place where you can climb high enough to jump up to the ledge she is on. (map)

North-northwest of Nilheim, next to a rock face, are a pile of three barrels and a sack with a copy of the Pickpocket skill book Aevar Stone-Singer on the ground between them. There is a canis root growing nearby and a few paces to the northwest is an iron ore vein. (map)

High in the mountains above the road leading to Markarth, equidistant between Valthume and Old Hroldan, which are to the south-southwest and north-northwest respectively, is a stone planter containing a juniper tree with an unlocked Dwemer chest and a copy of the Enchanting skill book Enchanter's Primer. It is further east near a path with an unmarked Forsworn Camp consisting of two Forsworn on two hay piles around a campfire, that leads to Gloomreach. (map)

On the south bank of the Karth River, opposite the entrance to Harmugstahl is a square stone arch with a planter underneath and steps leading up to it. On the edge of the planter is a copy of the Restoration skill book Withershins. There is also an iron ore vein a few paces further south. (map)

On the glacier, overlooking Saarthal to the west is an unlocked chest by skeletal remains of a deer and human. It is much closer to Saarthal than the mammoth. (map)

A short distance west of the Shrine to Peryite, on the far side of the mount that the shrine is built on, is a Dwemer tower-like structure, inhabited by a wispmother and three wisps. There are several pieces of broken masonry and steam pipes, along with an unlocked Dwarven chest located a few paces north of the main structure. (map)

West of Old Hroldan Inn on a river isle is an apprentice-locked common chest. On the rock ledge above is a precariously placed bird's nest. (map)

Southeast of Angarvunde and northwest of Avanchnzel is a lean-to sheltering an apprentice-locked strong box, two lockpicks and two leveled potions (healing and invisibility). Two canis roots grow next to it. (map)

Northwest of Orotheim on the river shore in a tiny alcove is a lootable skeleton next to a novice-locked common chest. (map)

Southwest, next to Orphan Rock is a lootable skeleton, helm and coin purse in a hollow fallen tree. Mora tapinella grows on the tree. (map)

Northeast of Ivarstead and southwest of Darkwater Crossing on the southern shore of a river is a dungeon chest. That section of the river has keyhole shape and is at the base of a waterfall almost due south of and very close to the location of Aevar Stone-Singer (as described above). (map)